Small Patio Decorating Ideas

We’ve done a ton of work on our front yard in the last few years. It’s gone from uninviting, unusable, unremarkable and so many other “un” words. Keep reading to see the latest transformation and see my small patio decorating ideas!

If you’ve been around here for a while, you may have seen our Rockery Wall Transformation, but that is only a fraction of what we have done! So many posts to write, so little time! I really need to get to those other posts about rebuilding our porch stairs, creating the walkway with pavers, and the rebuild of our large rockery wall. All of those are the lead up to this post. However, this post is way more fun to write because our front yard is the most done it has ever been!

Our front yard is all slope with a small flat area on top of our garage that we can use as a sitting space. Quite a few of the older homes in the area have similar garage set ups, where the garage sits in front of the house, with a flat roof line. Walking around the neighborhood we noticed that many people built pergolas on top and made them into a small patio. When we first moved in, we were so far from that stage! The garage leaked and the top was cracked, and the interior of the house needed so much attention. We continued to address the long list of projects and like a game of wack a mole, more pressing projects popped up.

I couldn’t locate a true before photo. This picture above is from a couple years back when the large rock wall was re-done and concrete on garage poured, but before we created the walking path of step stones and finished planting. When we first moved in there were rock spray shrubs bordering the top of the garage and the path to get there was sloped and dangerous.

Did I mention that while we worked on this space, our backyard remodel was also in progress?? You can check out the One Room Challenge Patio Refresh to see how our backyard looks now.

Now, finally I can share our front patio and some small patio decorating ideas!

Here are some easy Small Patio Decorating Ideas and tips.

One day we would like to add a pergola and siding to the top of the garage. Until then I found some old fence pickets on the Nextdoor app and my DIY dude (my husband) built a privacy screen. This will later be used as a trellis in another area. For now it helps to define the space, draw the eye up, and provide a bit of privacy.

You can see the tutorial for the screen HERE.

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Before we got these chairs I had a bistro set from our previous house. It is very cute, but not super comfortable and the scale was a bit awkward. We wanted the space to be more for lounging, watching our little guy play, eat popsicles and the like. Now that we have the adriondack chairs we sit out here way more. I pulled in an IKEA table that we used at our former house and a Target plant stand too.

With main furniture pieces picked out and identifying how we want to use the small patio, I pulled accessories we already had. The only things I bought were the pillows.

Since this patio is at the front of the house and close to the street I chose black for the primary color to hide dirt and fun bright accents for a little flair.

Hanging a macrame piece adds another layer for privacy without looking too heavy.

Potted plants or a small arrangement in a vase will soften hard lines of furniture and add color. I picked the flowers in the vase from our yard for a budget friendly bouquet.

This spot is nice and shady in the afternoon. It is perfect for a happy hour, popsicle, family hang out!

For the Fourth of July I swapped accessories for a festive look. The big pieces stayed the same! The classic stripes are great for everyday too.

I need to find photos from when we first moved in to share with you! It was not a space where you would want to spend any time.

Updating a small patio soon? Doing a midsummer patio refresh? Pin this for inspiration! Thanks so much for reading! Hope you visit our casa again soon 🙂

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